Think, Believe, Dream and Dare
by clandestinedly
Summary: Rick decides to take Kate and Alexis on a vacation before Alexis leaves for college. Thinking he's pulled off the best surprise, he's pretty proud of himself until Kate turns the vacation upside down and outdoes her husband. Set mid season 4. [AU]
1. Chapter 1

_Set mid-season 4 of castle (2011-2012)_

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Castle had been planning it for months, and now they were finally here. It had taken a lot of convincing initially to get Kate to take two weeks' vacation from the precinct; a lot of bribery, rationalizing and begging had been involved until one day, when he had brought up the subject of a vacation _again_ , she had turned to Castle with a bright smile and agreed. Rick hadn't expected her to acquiesce quite as easily as she had, but he had excitedly dropped her at the precinct before returning home to get some "work" done, although they both knew that he'd be spending the day researching and booking their vacation, of which he refused to tell her the destination.

The turning point of the conversation for Kate had been the realization that it would be the last chance she and Rick would get to spend with Alexis before she'd leave home for the first time to embark upon her collegiate journey. She was a bright, independent girl who could hold her own in almost any situation but she was still Rick's little girl, and he was having an especially difficult time with the knowledge that his little girl wasn't quite his little girl anymore, no matter how many times Alexis would try to placate her father with a hug and a reassurance that she'd always be his little girl. Even though she was only going a mere five miles away to Colombia, she wouldn't be living at the loft, and that would be a big adjustment, not only to Castle, but for Kate and Martha too.

It hadn't shocked Kate as much as Rick had expected when they had gotten to the airport and Rick had pulled out three tickets to Disneyworld, Florida. Kate was well aware she was married to the biggest man-child around, and the look of pure excitement and unadulterated joy on her husband's face perfectly mirrored the expression on Alexis' face. All Kate could do was laugh and shake her head. Unbeknownst to the pair who were now hurridly rushing towards the check in desk, she had done her own fair share of research and had a few tricks of her own up her sleeve. This was going to be a vacation none of them would ever forget.

Standing on Main Street USA, even Kate had to declare it was nothing like she had ever imagined. The park map in her hand had begun to crinkle as she had become distracted, looking up at the bright sights and sounds around her as the people filtered into the park with a hum of electricity she'd never felt away from a crime scene before.

"Put the map down, Kate," Rick says with a grin as he steps in front of her, pulling the paper from her hands before balling it up and throwing it into a nearby trashcan. "Disneyworld is to be explored, to be discovered. You don't have to follow the rules here, we should just walk and see where we end up. We don't need a map, it's all part of the fun. Think of it as a huge scavanger hunt" he grins, taking her hand in his own as Alexis nods in agreement.

"Just as long as we end up in Adventureland at some point, because I want to meet Captain Hook," the redhead interjects with a grin, causing Rick to laugh.

"Alexis always did have more of a penchant for the villains than the good guys," Rick explains as together the three of them begin to venture deeper into the park.

"Got a thing for the bad boys, huh?" Kate teases, and the link from the fictional world of Disney to the fact Alexis is on the verge of leaving for college causes Rick to narrow his eyes as he snaps out of his bubble of excitement and looks at his daughter pointedly.

"Just remember that at the end of the day, the villains never win out," he says with a glare, causing Alexis to grin.

"Don't worry, dad. I won't run off with a forty year-old tattooed biker that I meet at the bar on my first day of college," she says with a reassuring smile, watching as her father seems to visibly relax at her verbal promise. "I'll wait until my fourth day for that," she adds with a wink, causing Kate to snort with laughter as Rick's face pales.

"Hold on," Kate suddenly says, stopping as they pass a row of shops and she pats Rick's chest with a nod. "You two stay here, I'm going to get us something," she says, before disappearing into a store. A glance over her shoulder confirms that her husband and step daughter are standing outside of the store, probably discussing the various rules Rick had already set out for Alexis' college life.

A little research back at the precinct had led Kate to a website where she had been in touch with what the Disney world website called the dream makers. Over the course of a couple of days, Kate had pre-ordered and paid for some mouse ears to be embroidered and personalized. When the cast member disappears to the back to collect her order, a shiver runs down her spine in anticipation of what she's about to do; of what is about to be cemented into reality – and all at the happiest place on earth. She could almost picture Rick's face as she stands behind the cash register. Snapped out of her day dream as the cashier hands her the carrier bag with her purchases, Kate smiles and shows the cast member her proof of purchase which is subsequently stamped and signed before she turns and exits the store.

"What'd you buy me?" Castle asks instantly when he sees the bag in his wife's hands, and she rolls her eyes as she fishes out the first hat from the bag, handing it to Alexis with a grin. Not the traditional black ear hat, this one was a myriad of blue and green which had been ornately decorated with pearls and beads. A sea shell sat on one ear, and a starfish on the other. "Alexis," the stitching on the back of the hat in red declared exquisitely.

"The little mermaid!" The redhead had grinned, putting the hat onto her head, turning around proudly, causing her red hair to flick out in the wind. One of the first things Kate and Alexis had done on what they had later declared their 'girly days', had been spending the day on the sofa in their onesies watching Disney movies. 'The Little Mermaid' had quickly become a favourite, with Kate pointing out the similarities between Alexis and Ariel throughout the movie, causing the then younger redhead to blush and shake her head. But now, she steps forward and throws her arms around Kate, squealing before she pulls away to kiss Kate on the cheek. "It's perfect. I love it! Thanks, Kate!" It had always been abundantly clear that Alexis had inherited her father's childish qualities, but it was something Kate had loved about the father-daughter duo from the start.

"Don't pout, Rick. There's something for you too," Kate had laughed, noticing the dejected, melodramatic expression on her husband's face. For Rick, she had ordered the traditional Mickey Mouse ear set, with "Castle" stitched onto the back. When she had handed it to him, he had taken it and placed it on his head delicately, as though it were a crown before knocking one of the ears so it was tilted on his head, before throwing Kate a wink and a sultry look as though he were modelling it for her. She can't help but laugh and shake her head, before revealing her own set of ears. "Now you have your own crown," she smirks, as she watches him continue to model the hat proudly. "You can insert your own joke about being king of your Castle later," she adds with a smirk before she steps forward to kiss him quickly, well aware that they're in public and surrounded by young families.

Minnie Mouses' bow lay between the her own pair of ears, with "Beckett" stitched onto the back. She smiles as she holds it up and shows Rick and Alexis her own pair, "I know it's corny, but I wanted to do something to surprise the two of you just as much as you have done me," she nods, looking between Alexis and Rick, before handing him the bag she had been given inside the store. "Hold this for me while I put this on," she says, thrusting the bag towards him.

"You got me good, Beckett, and it's not corny. I love it" he grins as he takes the bag, his face contorting as he feels the weight remaining in the bag. "There's something else in here," he comments, before looking at Kate with wide eyes and a grin as he realizes there may be another present in it for him. "You got me something else?" He asks eagerly, and Kate shrugs in a nonchalant manner.

"Is there? I have no idea what it could be," Kate answers with an inflection to her tone of voice, feigning ignorance as she settles the ears on her head, looking to Alexis with a shrug and a wink as Rick begins to rifle energetically through the bag. Streams of tissue paper seem to be masking the last item, but his fingers find purchase on a box which he pulls eagerly from the bag. Like a child on Christmas, he tears the lid off the box, finding a smaller hat, this time with a blue sorcerer's hat in between the pair of ears.

"Cute," Rick says with a slightly confused smile. "You got a spare pair? These are a little small for my head though," he adds as he looks towards Kate, turning his focus towards Alexis as she begins to speak.

"That movie used to freak me out when I was a kid," Alexis confesses. "I hated that the brooms could move by themselves. I had nightmares for weeks and made dad clean with a dustpan and brush," she admits, and Kate has to really try hard to stifle a grin.

"Keep looking, Castle," she encourages, and Rick looks back towards his wife, following the direction of Kate's gaze back to the box. "You know, this is why _I'm_ the detective," she smirks, crossing her arms over her chest.

Of course, he hadn't bothered to look at the stitching on the back of the hat, which surprised even Kate, especially when she had made such an effort of showing the embroidery on the backs of their own hats. But it's worth it when she watches Rick's face change into that of what can only be surprised as pure shock.

"What is it, dad? What did Kate get you?" Alexis asks, stepping forward, having already seemingly understood where this was going when she had seen the size of the hat in her father's hand. Reaching out, she grips Kate's arm with a wide grin, her blue eyes shining brightly as she watches her father.

"It's going to take some time to get here," Kate says, finally breaking the silence between herself and Rick as he lifts the ultrasound from the box. "Don't you want to read what the back of the hat says?" She asks, and when Rick can finally bear to tear his eyes away from the ultrasound, Kate can see the tears of joy welling in the corners of her husband's eyes.

"Baby Castle, due 03/29/12," Rick reads slowly, before he lifts his head to look at Kate.

"Seven months time," she nods. "I'm eight weeks already," she tells Rick, chewing her lower lip nervously.

"You've done the impossible, Kate," Alexis says with a broad grin, causing Kate to turn to look at her step daughter. The grin on Alexis' face is infectious and Kate can feel the familiar sting of tears sweeping into her eyes, although these are happy tears - something she's grown accustomed to over the past couple of weeks.

"What's that, Lex?" She asks, turning her head back to look at Rick just as he sweeps her into a mammoth, all consuming hug which has Kate's feet lifted from the ground.

"You've outdone dad. I don't think anybody has ever done that before," Alexis laughs as she reaches forward and takes the ultrasound from her father's hand while he continues hugging Kate; husband and wife sharing their own intimate moment as Alexis traces the index of her fingertip across the picture of her baby brother or sister. "The newest addition to the Castle," she says quietly as Rick gently lowers Kate back down to earth, sweeping his hand immediately across her abdomen.

"Best vacation, _ever,_ " he says, his voice barely above that of a whisper as Alexis wraps her arms around Kate before they are engulfed by Rick's arms - all four of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Kate had reached the twenty week mark in her pregnancy, and so far, it had been smooth sailing. Both she and Rick had decided not to know what the gender of their unborn child was, opting to go for the element of surprise. It had only seemed fitting given the previous nature of their relationship that they wouldn't know what course fate would have them on, what destination this pregnancy would lead them to. Instead they had left the OB's office with pictures of their healthy, perfectly normal child. Her stomach had grown, prompting the purchase of an entire new wardrobe, _sans heels_ as per her husband's instruction, and the transformation of the guest room into a nursery. However, the notion of transitioning from a woman into a mother still seemed farfetched to Kate, who often had to stand and stare at her protruding stomach in the mirror to try and fathom that this was reality.

Rick had done his best to assure his wife that everything she was feeling was normal. The anxiety and doubt, along with the physical manifestations of the pregnancy. She still suffered a little bit of sickness, but it had mostly transitioned from nausea into heartburn seemingly overnight. The _'What to expect'_ guide to pregnancy had been most informative for Rick, who had decided to top up his knowledge of pregnancy because Kate was too overwhelmed to read about what was exactly happening to her body, and he had shared it with her one night over dinner.

"The baby is resting at approximately the level of your belly button," he had begun without even flinching as he scooped up a pile of mashed potato with his fork, slipping a piece of steak on top of it before taking a bite as Kate had watched on with wide eyes, suppressing the gag reflex that was quickly pushing for her attention. "It's beginning to push on your stomach," he'd continued on with a mouthful of food, before swallowing with a decisive nod of his head. None of this was new to him, Kate was well aware of that. When Meredith had gotten pregnant, she had done all she could to keep him away from the pregnancy. Rick had told her about the amount of literature he'd read, how he'd attended pre-natal classes on his own, wanting to be there for the birth of his child while she had used their baby as a bargaining tool. Rick had done everything he could to make sure he was fully prepared for his daughter's arrival, and it pleased Kate to know he was doing the same for their child. It wasn't just the reading of the books, it was the hours of painstaking deliberation over what color they should paint the nursery, over what books should line the shelves in the babies' room. He'd treated her pregnancy as though he was a first time father, and he wasn't afraid to face it – warts and all.

The bond Kate had with Alexis was incredible and had grown from strength to strength over the years, and the detective viewed the redhead as if she were her own daughter, knowing full well the sentiment was returned. "This combined with the relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter," Rick pauses, allowing himself to sip the glass of Chianti he had poured before sitting down to eat before continuing, "allows the muscular band between your esophagus and stomach to constrict, allowing the acid to rise into your esophagus, resulting in heartburn." The asparagus had now been speared by the sterling silver cutlery in his hand while Kate had leaned forward, placing her elbow onto the side of the table whilst silently apologising to her mother who she knew would be admonishing her from Heaven above for putting her elbows on the table as she had covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "An ant-acid should help. I stocked up on pepto," Rick continues, seemingly oblivious to his wife's pale complexion before she excuses herself with sigh, leaving him alone with her serving of food which had been hardly touched.

"Did you read or swallow that book, Castle?" Kate had questioned upon her return to the table with the sting of peppermint upon her lips from the gulps of the ant-acid she had stolen from the bottle in the bathroom pliable on her lips. Picking up her glass of water she takes a slow sip, watching as her husband clears his plate, mopping up the remnants of the peppercorn sauce with a slice of bread. Her stomach had once again turned and she had sighed as she offered him the remainder of her plate. "I'll go load the dishwasher," she had told him quietly when he had refused her leftovers before taking her plate over to the trash, scraping her food into it as he had followed suit and brought his own plate into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry you couldn't eat your dinner again," he tells her quietly, placing a kiss to the junction of her neck and her collarbone softly as he rests his hand on her waist. He moves his fingertips slowly onto the apex of her belly before his palm follows as she rests her head back against her shoulder with a sigh that reveals all of her anxieties were still haunting her. "You have nothing to worry about, you're going to be a great mother, Kate. You already _are_ a great mother," he breaths with an air of reassurance as he nuzzles his nose against her skin, inhaling the jasmine and jojoba oil of her moisturizer. "Do you want me to make you some toast to settle your stomach?"

Her auburn hair cascades from side to side as she shakes her head gently, sinking back into her husband's embrace as she closes her eyes. "I just wish I could talk to her. I have so many questions," she says, moving her hands so that they rest on top of his.

"You know you can always ask me, or mother," Rick tells her quietly as they share a brief moment of intimacy in the kitchen of the loft they had grown to know as their home. Once upon a time it had been his, but just as she had worked her way into his life, she had moved into the loft and now he couldn't remember a time when he didn't spot Jim's watch laying on the bathroom counter top, or her bra hanging off the corner of the armoire in the bedroom, or the thousands upon thousands of bobby pins that would show up in the oddest of places. Even last week he had found two in between his first edition copy of Leo Tolstoy, although he had forgotten to ask her what they were doing there, the little reminder that she was his wife had brought a smile to his face and he had closed the book over, leaving them in their position as he placed the book back onto the shelf.

"I know, and I don't want you to think I'm ungrateful but there are some things a girl just wants to ask her mom. Like," she pauses, taking a moment to think her thoughts through as her tongue sweeps across her lower lip, providing her the permission she seeks to actually say the words she's been mulling over for the past twenty weeks. "I want to know if I'm having the same cravings as she had with me, or whether she suffered with heartburn just the way I am right now," she nods. "I want to know if she knew whether I was a girl, or whether she had no idea. And I don't just mean whether she had been told she was having a girl by a medical professional, but whether _inherently_ , in her heart, she felt it," Kate says quietly, raising her hand in a balled fist to the centre of her chest as she closes her eyes. "When I was a teenager she warned about getting pregnant at a young age. She told me it was something we would savour together when I was with the man of my dreams, and we could comfortably support a baby and I did, Castle," Kate says, her voice audibly choking as she nods her head. "I wasn't ready to have a baby until I met you. I waited and we got married and we're having a baby and she isn't here to go through this with me. She isn't here."

"I doubt anybody would crave the herring, cheese and pickle sandwiches you've been asking me to make you," Rick says with a chortle, balking at the thought of the fish Kate had declared she _needed_ shortly after her sixteenth week scan. Everything else had stopped until he had brought home a tin of pickled herrings, and he wondered if he had ever seen the look of pure delight on her face when he had presented her with her request, no matter how many times he'd stopped himself gagging while preparing her food. The least he could do was tend to her needs while her body played host to their baby. Whatever Kate wanted, Kate would get, and that didn't even just stretch for the length of her pregnancy, either. "But I do know that you're not going through this alone. Your mom is always with you," he tells her, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he holds her closer, tighter. "And what she would have wanted more than anything would have been to see you happy, Kate. She would have wanted to see you and I, and the family we have created together. She'd have been so proud of you," he tells her as his hands smooth over the crest of her bump, which seems to suddenly tense under his touch.

Her body stiffens as she too recognises the shift in her stomach, and all at once her eyes widen and her mouth opens, and a look of concern floods her features as she drops her head and looks down at her stomach. It's faint, and feels like a rivulet of bubbles passing through her stomach, and for a split second she doesn't know whether she needs to go to the bathroom or whether she needs to throw up. When the movement passes and there's a pause, Rick furrows his brow with concern.

"Are you okay? Was it the mention of the herring, because in all honesty that would make anyone nauseous," he says, a little sarcastically, as he moves his arm to the small of her waist, urging her to step forward towards the living room so that at the very least, she could try and get comfortable. As she walks, Kate feels it again, although this time it's more noticeable. There's no accompanying nausea, no cold sweats, no dizziness. She sucks in a breath as the bubbles again feel like they're sweeping across the front of her stomach, moving from her right to her left side, and under Rick's hand as he walks her back to the sofa and guides her back down into the safety and comfort of the leather seat.

"I'm fine," Kate stutters in complete complexity as she looks down at her bump. "I think… I think that was the baby moving," she says, staring at her husband with a wide-eyed gaze. A grin breaks out and sweeps across her face as he sits down beside her on the sofa, placing his hands eagerly back on her stomach in an effort to feel the movement once more. Rick stares at his wife for the slightest tang of pain, the slighest twinge of anxiety - only this time there's nothing. The look on Kate's face is that of relaxation and joy – for the first time in months, she looks happy.

Neither of them hear the door opening as they look at each other in pure amazement. It's only when the raucous laughter between Alexis and Martha break out do they tear their eyes away from each other to look at the Castle women as they enter the loft, arms akimbo with various shopping bags of all shapes and sizes.

"Do you ever get the feeling we're interrupting something?" Alexis says to Martha as they both step forward towards the second couch, relinquishing their grips on the shopping bags to look at each other. From the corner of her eye, Alexis can see the row of Disney hats they'd brought back with them from Florida, and a small smile crosses her face as she is reminded of the family they've become. It didn't take a baby to bring them all together, of course not – they were a family ever since he had brought Kate home for the first time but this was new. This was different.

"With your father? _Constantly_ ," Martha had said jovially with her signature smirk as she makes her way into the kitchen, retrieving a martini glass. "Anybody else want one?" She asks, raising the glass to indicate there was alcohol on the way.

"What's going on?" Alexis asks as she sits down next to Kate. "Is everything alright with my baby brother or sister?" The element of panic and hesitation to her step-daughter's voice is enough to bring a smile to Kate's face as she shakes her head and places a hand on Alexis' knee.

"Everything's fine," she begins with a nod, turning her gaze from her step-daughter to her husband who is now leaning down to place butterfly kisses to her bare skin, having pushed the fabric of her t-shirt up over the top of her neat little bump. "Your baby brother or sister was just letting us know that he or she is okay in there," Kate grins, wrapping her arms around Alexis's shoulder as the redhead leans in and places her hand on the side of Kate's bump.

"Yeah?" Alexis grins, and Kate looks up to see Martha watching the three of them on the sofa in an approving manner. "Hey baby brother, or sister," Alexis grins. "I can't wait to meet you," she adds, before pressing a kiss to Kate's stomach and sitting up back as she looks at her step-mother.

"Hey, Lex?" Kate asks, taking Alexis' hand in her own, squeezing it gently. "Do you think you could do something for me?" She counteracts with a kind smile.

"Of course," Alexis nods. "Anything. What do you want?"

Kate grins, and Rick sits back, scrunching his face in disgust as he knows what is coming, causing Kate to swipe at his chest, smacking him lightly with a laugh. "A herring, cheese and pickle sandwich."

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 _All reviews, comments and criticisms are welcome!_


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